Prince Fielder needs to get off ground, find more lift

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Christopher Hanewinckel/Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODA

Mar 13, 2014; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder (84) at second base after a double in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Prince Fielder began exhibition play Friday night hitting .259 with one home run in 27 at-bats. The more telling numbers for the Rangers were eight and five.

That is, eight, as in ground-ball outs, and five, as in fly-ball outs. Fielder will be back to the intimidating power hitter of the past when he reverses that rate and lifts pitches more often again.

“That’s something we’ve talked about, especially on the pull [right] side,” hitting coach Dave Magadan said. “For a guy like him, he’s got to pull the ball in the air. Hit it on the ground, and it’s an out. … It’s something that we’ve addressed and are making progress.”

There have been signs of progress in the last week.

On Sunday against Seattle ace “King Felix” Hernandez, Fielder doubled off the center-field wall and hit a deep fly-ball out to right. On Thursday against another front-line pitcher, San Francisco right-hander Ryan Vogelsong, Fielder had that same combination of double to center and well-hit out to right.

“My swing, I do feel good,” Fielder said. “I’m seeing the ball. Anytime you’re hitting, it’s just a matter of getting a good pitch to hit. It doesn’t matter how good or bad your swing is. I’m just trying to hit a ball hard.”

Others would disagree. The overwhelming view of major league scouts is that the swing changed last season. Fielder had less of his old-school uppercut and was late getting to fastballs away, a pitch he often sees. His large frame got in the way.

With that, Fielder became less of a power hitter and fell from favor with Detroit.

Fielder finished with career lows in home runs with 25 and slugging percentage at .457. By the playoffs, he had become a ground-ball hitter, which is to say an outs machine. In two rounds of the postseason, Fielder hit .225 with one extra-base hit, a double, and no RBIs in 40 at-bats.

He hit 19 grounders and eight fly balls. That included 16 ground-ball outs and four fly-ball outs. Against Boston, Fielder grounded out to second seven times in 22 at-bats.

Shortly after Boston eliminated the Tigers, Detroit management began looking to trade Fielder. The Rangers took him, and a contract that runs for seven more years, in return for second baseman Ian Kinsler.

“If I knew what caused it, I wouldn’t have done it,” Fielder said of the rising number of ground-ball outs.

As Detroit’s hitting coach, new Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon went through the struggles with Fielder. There were personal and professional problems.

“The ball got a little deep on him last year for a number of reasons, some of which I don’t want to go into,” McClendon said Thursday at the Mariners’ camp. “It was a tough year for him.”

By the ball getting deep, McClendon meant Fielder did not get to pitches when he could pull them. Pitchers even got away with mistakes inside, a place where no one previously wanted to go against Fielder.

The unspoken factors involved marital strife. Fielder filed for divorce in May, and his two sons were no longer with him at all times. Fielder treasures every moment with his sons.

Fielder and his wife, Chanel, appear to have reconciled. She accompanied Fielder to an introductory news conference with the Rangers, and the club lists her as his wife in the media guide. In their free time, the sons accompany their father everywhere. Fielder seems to be happy.

He has also dropped weight —how much he will not say. Fielder could make the jumbo body work in his 20s, but it is tougher as he approaches age 30. (He gets there on May 9.)

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